September 15th – Ruminations From My Bicycle Seat

Don’t get me wrong, I get it. I really do. Exercise is good for you. But, frankly, I hate it. Well, not physical exertion performed in the pursuit of a cherished activity – like canoe tripping, or backpacking, or cycle touring (or, dare I say, sex?). What I hate is exercise done simply for the sake of exercise. Because it’s good for me. Running/walking a treadmill or stepper is just too much like a squirrel on a wheel…..and I quickly lose my interest and motivation. But, if I’m going to be able to be vigorous going into my old age (which is always 5 years older than I am), I realize that I have to physically exert myself on a regular basis. The key is to work physical exertion into the daily fabric of one’s life. So I decided to cycle to and from the banding lab.

Of course it’s pitch black when I set out – the nets have to be opened half an hour before sunrise – and that fact left me a little nervous. I’ve done a lot of cycling on Haldimand roads and at one time it was hair-raising. But the county has adopted a pro-bicycle stance to encourage tourism (although I’d love to think it was for eco-friendly reasons – but I doubt it) so motorists seem to be more aware of cyclists and more polite toward them. But at 5:30 in the morning……

My son Geoff (after checking to make sure he was ensconced in my will) gave me some lights – a flashing red for the rear and steady white so I can see where I’m going – and they work! Cars passing from behind give me a wide berth so I know they’re seeing me. So I’m now killing two birds with one stone so to speak: getting my physical exercise while I get to the banding lab….and I don’t feel like the proverbial squirrel.

When there’s no traffic it’s been neat to watch the stars overhead (with one eye; the other keeping me on the road). And it dawned on me that the constellation Orion has been badly miscast. He is known as a hunter wielding a mighty club over his head. No. Orion is a bander and that “club” is simply the stick one uses to push the mist nets up the pole. And how appropriate that he is overhead as the Fall migration gets into full swing.

Given the summer-like conditions I was surprised when Mike and Nancy caught 63 birds yesterday. And I was surprised today when, with similar conditions, I banded 55. Maybe these long-distance migrants are like weekend vacationers from Toronto in Muskoka or Haliburton: if the weather is great they put off heading back south until the last minute, going Monday morning rather than Sunday afternoon. But…..no matter what the weather conditions, they reach a point where they simply have to go in order to keep their jobs or, in the case of birds, acquire a good wintering territory. And maybe that’s what we’re seeing – these birds have simply got to get going now to maintain their deeply ingrained schedule. And we’re catching them in good numbers.

Banded 55:
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Gray-cheeked Thrushes
6 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 American Robin
3 Gray Catbirds
7 Cedar Waxwings
3 Philadelphia Vireos
5 Red-eyed Vireos
3 Tennessee Warblers
2 Cape May Warblers
7 Magnolia Warblers
2 Bay-breasted Warblers
3 Blackpoll Warblers
1 Black & White Warbler
1 Ovenbird
1 Northern Waterthrush
5 Common Yellowthroats
1 Song Sparrow

ET’s: 47 spp.
Rick